The Journal Gazette, 600 W. Main St., Fort Wayne IN

It’s been a year since Fort Wayne smokers snuffed out their cigarettes indoors, but the debate over the merits of the city’s ban still smolders.

More than a dozen bars and taverns have shut their doors since smoking was prohibited in almost all businesses, and owners of some bars that remain say revenues have plummeted. Tax receipts on food and drink purchases countywide, however, have increased slightly over the past year, and several clubs have invested heavily to install outdoor beer gardens and patios.

Former City Councilman John Crawford led the charge last year to ban smoking in Fort Wayne. The oncologist said the scientific evidence proved secondhand smoke is harmful and people should not be subjected to it in any place of employment, including bars and taverns.

That stance likely played a part in Crawford’s defeat last year, as he was vilified as someone hell-bent on taking away the rights of businesses. A year later, he says doesn’t regret anything and numerous strangers have thanked him for taking the stance.

“I’m still sure we did the right thing,” Crawford said, adding he was hopeful Allen County or Indiana would follow suit with stronger smoking restrictions.

Councilman Tom Didier, R-3rd, disagrees with his former colleague. Didier, who sells food to restaurants and bars, said he’s seen how the ban has hurt mom-and-pop places throughout the city.

“It’s been difficult,” he said. “There are still customers today that are hurting.”

Didier was the lone councilman to vote against the smoking ban last year.

The economics

Several bar owners said the smoking ban has crippled their industry. The statistics are somewhat mixed, however.

Allen County’s 1 percent food and beverage tax receipts increased 4.2 percent – or $182,450 – in the first 10 months since the ban took effect, according to state records. Only 10 months of figures exist for the receipts because the state’s statistics typically lag one month behind business collections, and May figures were not available as of Friday afternoon.

Crawford said he wasn’t surprised to hear business was stable because that has been the case in other cities and states that have bans.

“There are certain isolated places that are going to get hurt by it,” he said. “The great majority adjust and bring in people in other ways. The bars certainly didn’t close in California and New York.”

But local tavern owners say that the figures don’t tell the whole story. Pete Tsuleff, owner of the closed Northwood Bar & Grill, said the statistics are countywide. He believes businesses outside the city limits are thriving while those in Fort Wayne are dying.

“They destroyed our businesses. They destroyed our lives,” he said.

A better representation of the health of the industry, Tsuleff said, is the number of liquor licenses languishing in escrow, which happens when a bar closes.

According to the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, there are currently 22 liquor licenses in escrow in Fort Wayne. Of those, 13 are the coveted three-way licenses that allow a business to sell beer, wine and liquor. Some of the licenses on the list went into escrow before the smoking ban took effect.

The state’s numbers don’t count bars that have closed and the state has eliminated the license, or those bars that closed and the license was bought and used for a new bar.

Tsuleff said there typically were only four to five licenses in escrow before the ban, and the glut has slashed the value of the license, which many bar owners banked on selling for their retirement. A business opened about a year ago bought a license for $100,000, he said, and when it recently closed could get only $33,000 for it.

Tsuleff said he declined a $40,000 offer for his license, which is in escrow, but now he fears he won’t get anything for it.

The final nail

Loren Fifer, local president of the Indiana Licensed Beverage Association, agrees the local smoking ban isn’t the only reason bars are struggling. A sluggish economy, the elimination of gambling games in bars and even strict drunken-driving enforcement have been blamed for hurting the city’s tavern industry. But Fifer said the smoking ban was the final step to push many local businesses over the edge.

Deb Grimes, owner of Sports and Spirits, showed that her bar receipts tumbled after the ban took effect last June. She lost 18 percent of her business from June through December 2007 compared with 2006, and she estimated it was even worse this year. The loss of money forced her to lay off her own son.

“You can’t afford to have employees,” she said.

Fifer, Grimes and Tsuleff argued that while officials make hay over a factory opening or closing, little is said about the slow loss of jobs from their industry. Grimes showed that three of her former employees have since filed for unemployment benefits.

Enforcement issues

Fifer said enforcement of the ban is also difficult on bar owners, as they are forced to choose between following the law and kicking out paying patrons.

“We shouldn’t have that choice. It’s not fair,” she said.

That has led to reports of illicit smoking in some bars across Fort Wayne. Crawford said it is time to start issuing tickets so businesses get the message this ban is for real.

“I’m still not sure the enforcement is as good as it can be,” he said.

Jim Murua, the city fire marshal, said he believes most businesses are complying voluntarily with the law. While he agrees some try to fight the system, complaint calls have dropped in the past two months from five complaints a week to one. He said the weather likely played a factor, as smokers are more likely to go outside when it is warmer.

“I actually think it’s going fairly well,” he said of enforcement.

In January the city announced new measures to increase enforcement of the ban, including additional assistance from the police department. People wanting to report a violation can call the smoking hotline at 427-7665, use the city’s 311-system during business hours or contact police dispatch at 427-1222 on nights and weekends.

Murua said his department has issued several tickets recently, with 17 issued over the ban’s first year. He said two tickets have been written in the past few weeks.

Good times

Not every bar has a sad story, however. Club Soda, the downtown restaurant and bar, has twice expanded its outdoor eating areas since smoking was banned, investing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Jimmy Jonasch, bar manager, said Club Soda had planned on expanding before the ban, but it made sense to do so immediately when indoor smoking was outlawed.

“The timing was just perfect,” he said. “We have gained quite a bit from the non-smokers who were not coming in as often or at all.”

Jonasch, who is called Jimmy J, said even the bar’s slow times are busier than before. He said the bar’s location and the timing of its expansion helped it thrive while others struggle. Even if the city were to rever course on its smoking ban, he said Club Soda’s indoor areas would likely remain smoke-free.

Several other bars across the city invested in outdoor eating, drinking and smoking areas, which are allowed as long as they are 8 feet away from the building.

Dan White, owner of Wrigley Field Bar & Grill, built a $4,000 outdoor smoking area to protect patrons from the elements. He said he has become a reluctant convert to the smoking ban, as he changed his business model to fit the new rules.

Instead of focusing on selling drinks to smokers, White said he has now opened a family room and is trying to get as many large groups out to eat at his business. While his liquor receipts dropped 30 percent, his food sales have jumped 50 percent. He said that still doesn’t break even, as the profit margin is higher on drinks than meals, but he said there is no point railing against the city.

“I would much rather have been a bar, but now that I have to do both (bar and grill) I love it,” he said. “I have no choice, I have to like it.”

No chance for change

Council President Didier said it will likely be up to bar owners to follow White’s lead and adapt to the new rules. While he doesn’t believe government should be making laws that hurt businesses, he also admits the law is unlikely to change.

“Is it going to change here in Fort Wayne? Not unless you change the council,” he said.

Councilman Marty Bender, R-at large, ran on a campaign to try to rescind the smoking ban. He tried to introduce a bill in February to allow smoking back in bars and taverns, but it failed to get enough votes to get a hearing. Last week he said the issue remains important to him, but he doesn’t see the point in reintroducing something destined for failure.

And while Crawford said he would like to see the ban taken countywide, that too is unlikely. The county commissioners are not considering changing the county’s smoking ordinance, Commissioner Bill Brown said.

The commissioners’ office has not received any calls from residents or bar owners asking for the commissioners to take another look at the law despite city leaders encouraging people to do just that, Brown said.

“The city unleveled the playing field,” he said, not the county.

Brown said adults should be able to meet and smoke in public. And the county’s law allows establishments that only serve adults to allow smoking.

Tsuleff said he wouldn’t try to push for a countywide ban.

“Why would I go out and try to destroy other people’s business?” he asked.

Instead, the bar owners said they will try to persuade council members to reconsider the ban. If that is unsuccessful, they will work to get others elected in 2011 – so long as they are still in business.

blanka@jg.netAmanda Iacone of The Journal Gazette contributed to this story.